


and at least in this lifetime

by stillhangingon



Series: Haikyuu!! Angst Week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Final Haikyuu Quest, Archer Kageyama Tobio, Character Death, Crow Familiar Hinata Shoyou, Demon Oikawa Tooru, Final Haikyuu Quest, Haikyuu Angst Week 2020, Knight Iwaizumi Hajime, M/M, Mage Kozume Kenma, no beta we die like men, this was super rushed and a day late aghhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27404050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillhangingon/pseuds/stillhangingon
Summary: Day 3/4 of Haikyuu Angst Week: Defeat/"I can't lose this/you too" & Illness/DeathThe Demon King Oikawa has caused irrevocable havoc on the Kingdom of Seijoh and Knight Iwaizumi volunteers to put an end to his reign.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Haikyuu!! Angst Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995205
Kudos: 21
Collections: Haikyuu Angst Week 2020





	and at least in this lifetime

“The Demon King has grown too powerful we only have one shot at destroying him and it’s this midnight using the Holy Sword.” The mage Kenma was somberly looking at the yellowing map displaying where they would travel to be able to reach the Demon King’s castle. Iwaizumi was accompanied by Hinata, Kenma’s crow familiar, and Kageyama, a skilled archer who would accompany Iwaizumi inside the castle to slay the Demon King. 

The Demon King who had taken over Oikawa Tooru.

The small group of warriors were huddled inside a small canvas tent. It was lit only with Kenma’s magic colorful crystals and although the multi-colored lights usually set Iwaizumi at peace, they did nothing to calm the storm of dread brewing in his stomach. 

Few days prior, Kenma had approached him and asked what he knew of Oikawa. Iwaizumi was surprised how he knew he was even acquainted with the King of Seijoh. 

“It’s a mage’s job to know.” Kenma had said succinctly. Iwaizumi was confused but didn’t prod further. He respected the shorter man enough to put up boundaries. 

After a minute of Iwaizumi continuing to sharpen his sword, the knight finally responded. 

“I..,” Iwaizumi started, his throat welling up with memories he had fought so hard to push down. “I grew up with Tooru.” He used his actual name. Ever since Tooru had killed the entire Karasuno clan because of a prophecy, he had been named Demon King by everyone in and outside the realm of Seijoh. Iwaizumi still thinks whether or not he could have prevented Oikawa from going down that path if he had only stayed. 

Kenma’s golden eyes focused on him for a while before motioning him to continue. 

“My father was the Captain of the Royal Guard and was close to the Oikawa family. Naturally, we grew up close to each other as well.” Iwaizumi thumbed the hilt on his sword, his old --and favorite-- one used to have a strong oak tree, the Oikawa sigil, and Tooru had given it to him on the day he was appointed as Knight when Hajime was 16. 

They had shared their first kiss that night. 

Hajime still remembers how red Tooru had become when passing him the sword and how soft his lips were when the taller boy cut off Hajime’s string of ‘thank yous’ with a kiss so soft and quick, Hajime thought he had dreamt it. 

“Was he always that way?” Kenma asks. Hajime looks at him, then at the night sky, at the stars that Tooru used to be so fond of. He had dragged Hajime out of bed on countless nights to show him some wonderful activity that the stars were exhibiting. Hajime never could focus on the stars for long, his gaze constantly drifted to Tooru. 

Hajime had always watched him. 

Hajime shook his head. “He was a bit spoiled as a kid,” but Tooru was spoiled in the way young ambitious princes were. 

“He had a knack for getting what he wanted and wasn’t shy of using any means necessary to do it.” 

He gripped the sword tighter, maybe he should’ve looked after him more. He could’ve seen it coming. 

“I never thought he’d do it.”

Days after Hajime’s birthday and becoming a knight, it was Tooru’s birthday and also the day to have his future seen by a seer. A ritual that all the young heirs had to go through. 

Hajime remembers how frightened Tooru was, his usually steady hands were shaking and he gripped Hajime’s calloused hands a little too tight. He hadn’t minded, Hajime had sworn to be Tooru’s infallible pillar and was there to support Tooru no matter what future the seer showed the young prince. 

No one had expected that the seer would show the demise of the future king. The vision had shown him being crowned King and then subsequently be killed by a warrior from a small clan. 

The heir to the Oikawa family was to be slain by a fearsome knight, his heart in his hands as he is taken to Death’s door. 

Immediately afterward, Tooru remembered the small Karasuno clan by the river. His family had taken their lands, with Tooru leading the army and Hajime by his side. It would make sense that they seek revenge on him when he’ll be crowned as future King. 

Clandestinely, he summoned the Royal Assassins. No one knew of these groups except the Oikawa family and the Royal Guard. He had summoned them to slaughter every single member of the Karasuno clan during the cover of night. 

Iwaizumi heard of Oikawa’s plan when his father had questioned his knowledge about it and he hurriedly ran towards Tooru's chambers and faced the other boy. The young prince was slumped over his desk, his hands gripping his chestnut hair with so much force Hajime thought he’d rip it off. 

“Oikawa.,” he called out and was met with silence. Hajime takes a wary step forward.

“Oikawa, what have you done?” He asks and finally, Tooru looks at him and Hajime’s breath caught in his throat. Tooru’s eyes were subsumed by obsidian black and his face was so abnormally pale, his veins --now dark-- shown through. 

“Hajime..” Tooru rasped out, the young knight froze where he was standing.

“Hajime...I did it..” The other boy was calling out for him but this boy, this creature, was not Tooru. This was something else entirely and it had consumed the boy he had loved. 

That night, Hajime took everything he owned, his favorite sword slung on his hip, and rode off. He remembered a mage living near the outskirts of Nekoma. A kingdom four days ride from Seijoh and rode hard.

_ He would save Tooru. _

It had been two years since then and Hajime never went back. When the mage, Kenma told him that a demon had already consumed Tooru and was going after the Royal Family as well, he didn’t believe it and fought back. He was easily subdued, after all a mage against a Knight, the odds were against his favor. 

“The best you can do to defeat the Demon King is to wait until the Holy Sword is finished.”Kenma had said to a beaten and slumped Hajime. 

“Then you can face him.”

The evening when Iwaizumi and Tobio had arrived in Seijoh, the land was desolate and decrepit. Not a single soul was there and the strong trees that used to line the pathways towards the castle were brown and lifeless, their branches looking like claws extending towards the sky. Hajime had hoped that the Royal Guard would have been able to stop the Demon King but when Hajime saw the Seijoh flag in tatters and his father’s helm burnt underneath it, Hajime’s chest twisted in pain as he fought to keep the sobs fighting to escape him.

Hajime gripped the sword by his hip a little more tightly. He had surrendered his old one to Kenma when he volunteered to be one of the warriors who would slay the Demon King. The sword he had brought with him was much lighter and elegant, even its sheath was decorated beautifully. The blacksmith and the mages had done amazing work on it. 

Now it was Iwazumi’s turn to get the job done. 

The castle was dark, eerie, and caliginous. The ominous silence covered the entire room and from his right, he heard a shift of rock and before he could even draw his sword a malformed goblin jumping from his perch on a pillar had been shot down by one of Tobio’s arrows. The dark mists shifted and more hideous creatures crawled out, Hajime had his sword drawn out, ready to fight when Tobio’s voice rang out. 

“Iwaizumi-san! You have to go!” The younger boy shouted, knocking back an arrow. “It’s almost the Lost Hour! I’ll take care of this!” 

Hajime grit his teeth before running off to the throne room, where he was sure Tooru was, waiting for him.

Hajime had to defeat the Demon King before midnight, or the Lost Hour. The mages claimed that was when the world reset and when the magic was at it its lowest point. 

“Impale the Demon King in the chest with this sword not a minute after the bell rings,” Kenma said, handing over the finished sword just hours before. 

“His magic will be too weak to fight back the sword.”

As Hajime was running through the hallways and stairs, the slivers of fear clawing in his chest grew bigger and bigger with every step he took and Hajime wondered when it was time, whether or not he could do it... 

  
  


Tooru was in the throne room, exactly where he had expected him to be. The other man was smiling at him. His completely black eyes felt like twin voids Hajime nearly lost himself in and his smile revealed sharp yellow teeth. Hajime winced involuntarily, Tooru had one of the most beautiful and brightest smiles in the kingdom and Hajime had exulted inwardly every time he managed to make the other man show him his genuine ones. Two dark and gritty horns protruded out of his head, the image of him looking exactly like the demons in the books that Tooru used to show him in the library. 

He was sure that midnight was nearing, Kenma had put a spell on Seijoh’s bell for it to ring at exactly the Lost Hour. 

Hajime walked closer, every calculated step, making his armor scrape and crackle. 

“Tooru, I’m back,” Hajime said, hoping the words could maybe make the other man remember. Unfortunately, Tooru --no the Demon King-- continued to smile at him, his claws starting to lengthen and his smile growing abnormally wider. 

“My Knight, have you come to vanquish me?” The voice that crawled out, all guttery and deep, did not sound like Tooru’s melodic lilt. This demon had taken over Tooru and was using him as a puppet. Rage boiled in his blood and Hajime’s vision nearly blacked out with it. 

The demon stood up and Hajime came back to himself enough to remember the duty he had to see through. He had to wait. It wasn’t time. 

Hajime changed his stance and gripped the sword with both hands. He was going to make this demon pay a hundred times over for what he did. 

This demon was a sickness consuming Tooru and Hajime was going to cure him of it, no matter what.

The Demon King lunges and Hajime parries with the sword. Throughout his years of training as a knight for the royal family, Hajime had only wielded strong heavy swords, meant for a two-handed grip, and to be able to slice through flesh and bone. 

The Holy Sword was light, sharp yet strong enough to withstand the Demon King’s claws and flames. The two beings clashed in an amalgamation of black and white. Hajime slashing at his arms, legs, and hands, only to weaken not kill. 

As the seconds towards the Lost Hour lessened, the tendrils of fear earlier driven away by rage had made their way back. Hajime had successfully managed to cut his way into the Demon King’s legs and he knelt on the ground clutching at the wounds, his hands making quick work of the open damage. 

Hajime could tell by the line on the other’s expression, his deepened furrow on the brow, his teeth gnashing together into a deep scowl, that the magic was working. 

Hajime stepped closer, his steps still wary of the dark being. He wanted to call out again, to Tooru, to the man he loved. He wanted to tell him that he loved the other and wished for nothing to have him back by his side. He gripped his sword tighter to get rid of the lump that crawled into his throat. 

He would not cry. Not in front of this, this -- _ creature. _

This creature who had taken everything from him and Hajime hated the part of himself that ran while the Demon King had run loose among the people he loved. 

The other man had his head down, his cape flowing on the floor like a pile of dark liquid. The Demon King had gone eerily still and Hajime turned the sword in his hand.  _ It would be better this way _ , he thought. 

_ I don’t have to see his face.  _

Suddenly, just as the bell’s first notes rang out, the Demon King lifted his head and Hajime’s breath left his chest. 

_ It couldn’t be. No. No. No. _

“Hajime?” It was Tooru’s deep elegant voice calling his name, his brown soulful eyes looking back at him. At Hajime who had a sword pointed downwards towards his chest. 

Hajime could see the reflection of the bright sword and himself in Tooru’s eyes and Hajime’s grip slackened. Tooru was here, he was back. He could save him. Hajime let a small slow smile creep on his face, he let out a watery gasp. 

He didn’t notice how Tooru’s claws were slowly growing into their full length. 

“Tooru,” he started, lowering the sword. “You’re aliv-” 

A sudden searing pain struck his abdomen so fast and so quickly he could only grapple at his stomach, the wound blocked and covered by armor, Hajime quickly unbuckled the straps and pressed his free hand on it. The world was a blur of pain and betrayal and grief. Hajime saw Tooru’s face crumble as he gripped at his bloodied wrist. 

_ Shit. The bell is almost done ringing. Midnight is going to pass.  _

Hajime remained standing only with the help of the sword and he knew that even this unerring weapon would do nothing if the wielder was incapable. He sunk to his knees and thought of Kenma and Hinata; the others that depended and believed in him. 

_ I have failed you all.  _

He looks at Tooru --Tooru who was cradling him now-- his eyes still brown and glassy. Hajime felt wetness on his face. But he didn’t think he was crying. 

_ Oh. It was Tooru. Tooru was crying.  _

“Hajime! Hajime! Get up!” The other man was grabbing at the hand where Hajime’s sword still laid. The knight had thought he’d had let go of it by now. He couldn’t feel much. 

“Hajime,..” Tooru started, his cold hands around the other’s face. 

“You have to kill me” 

He grits his teeth at the words, he knew he had to do this. The sword at his hand seemed to know this too, he slowly gripped the handle and held it between the two men. The point angled towards Tooru’s chest. 

Tooru smiled at the blade, his eyes warm and calm. He looked at the blade as a man who looks at an island after being lost at sea. 

Those eyes bore into him and a heartbeat passed between the two. The bell’s last note rang out through the kingdom and summoning strength Hajime didn’t know he still had, he plunged the blade into Tooru’s chest. The other man let out a gasp, his brown eyes flickering back to black until Tooru stilled. 

Slowly, Tooru gave Hajime a bloody smile with sharp teeth and bright eyes, a sight that Hajime wanted to drag with him to the afterlife. 

“I love you, Hajime,” Tooru whispered. The other man finally let out the pressure pressing down into him, letting out a sob that wracked throughout his body, disturbing his wound even more but Hajime couldn’t care less. 

“I love you too, Tooru..” He cupped his face, his rough hands smearing blood on the other’s face. 

Tooru’s smile stayed even as the darkness underneath his pallid skin disappeared along with the light in his eyes. 

Hajime shuddered as he felt a frisson of weakness and cold go through him and he laid Tooru and himself down on the cracked floor. 

Outside, the dark mists disappeared and the warriors rejoiced. Hinata let out a happy cry, the other warriors following suit. Kenma watched as one of the crystals’ light snuffed out. 

It was the teal one.

Back at the castle, Tobio was wiping his twin daggers on a kerchief that Hinata lent to him. His arrows had run out a few goblins ago and immediately he ran. 

Looking for the throne was easier than Tobio thought. He had only needed to run through several corridors and after sticking his head into a few large doors he found a room with a giant dark throne. 

Entering the large room with large cautious steps, Tobio had both his daggers ready. 

_ Had Iwaizumi-san failed? _

Dread filled the young archer and he was about to turn and call for assistance when he noticed a gleam from his right. Tobio walked up towards it and noticed Iwaizumi’s white armor. 

Tobio's eyes widened and his chest tightened at the sight of the two men. 

Iwaizumi arms were around the Demon King, the Holy Sword lay in the middle of the two men, it’s blade ran straight through the Demon King, only the hilt coming out from his chest. One of the Demon King’s claws was curled around Iwaizumi’s pale face. The two faced each other, both their faces depicting two men not drawn together by war. 

Tobio felt his eyes watering and he knelt, saying a silent prayer. 

_ “There you are Hajime!” _

_ “Tooru…” _

_ “Took you long enough!” _

_ “Yeah… sorry about that.” _

_ “It’s fine. You promised to never leave me, right?” _

_ “I swore by it.” _

_ “As long as you’re with me in the end. I don’t mind, Hajime..” _

**Author's Note:**

> This came from my Kingdom AU (which is currently still an idea and so I haven't written anything for it). I'll probably make a different fic for Day 4 properly since I just kinda mixed them both since this fic really escaped me and got so long and I'm late for it as well.
> 
> check out my [tumblr](http://jaegerboob.tumblr.com/)  
> and [twitter](https://twitter.com/stillhangingonn)


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